The field of invention is a parking guide for use in a garage or other similar structure to aid a driver of a vehicle to properly park the vehicle within a parking space.
With the size of the garage shrinking in relation with the increased size of vehicles and the placement of other objects in the garage, such as bicycles, tools, etc., the need to more precisely locate the vehicle in the garage becomes increasingly important. If the driver of the vehicle is not properly guided into the garage, the vehicle may strike other objects in the garage, may strike the walls of the garages, or may not be pulled far enough into the garage to shut the garage door.
Numerous devices and methods are known for aiding owners of vehicles to park cars in garages. A typical and inexpensive device to properly locate a vehicle in a garage is to hang a tennis ball from a string in a predetermined position from the ceiling. When the tennis ball touches the windshield as the driver pulls the vehicle into the garage, the driver is assured that the vehicle is far enough into the garage. Other methods include placing bumps on the garage floor. When the vehicle contacts certain of the bumps, the driver is notified that the vehicle is far enough into the garage. The disadvantage of each of these devices is that when the vehicle is not in the garage, the devices become obstacles within the garage for a person walking through it. The person must avoid the ball dangling from the ceiling or the person must avoid tripping over the bumps on the garage floor.
Other devices include a light source pointing down from the ceiling of the garage onto the vehicle. The light source projects a beam or dot which, when adjusted properly, shines on a specific portion of the windshield or dashboard of the vehicle when the vehicle is in the proper location within the garage. Such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,191,706B1 to Kositkum, 6,002,346 to Bowden et at., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,150 to Laubach. The disadvantage of these particular methods is that they do not aid the driver in reaching the proper location. They merely inform the driver when the proper location is reached. Additionally, when the driver had substantially pulled into the garage and notices that the light dot is laterally off by some amount, he must make last minute maneuvers in the garage to align the dot or repeat the entire parking process. Such actions either leave the vehicle parked crooked in the garage or waste time moving the vehicle backwards and forwards.